A Thing or Two About Diapers

Before our little guy was born I did some research on diapers and tried to decide what I wanted to use, what was cheapest, easiest to buy and those sorts of factors. I thought about using cloth diapers, and I really wanted to, but when I started looking around online there were so many options that I was completely overwhelmed. Not to mention my preggo brain just couldn’t handle it. I decided I’d start out with disposables and then maybe rethink cloth diapers after a month or so. A month went by, and by then we had a newborn in our house and a lot less sleep to go on. Not to mention we were moving in a month and this time with a newborn! The idea of cloth diapers went on the back burner as we packed up our house and drove across several states with a newborn & kitties in tow.

Fast forward to about a month ago at playgroup – a friend came in to show us some cloth diapers and give us all sorts of info and answer questions. It was so great to actually see the different types of cloth diapers and to feel them and ask questions. I left playgroup with a lot to think about and was seriously considering switching over to cloth diapers. Our little guy is 9 months old (where does the time go?!) and although I feel like I’m late in attempting this, better late than never, right? Not to mention, I feel much more equipped to do research now that I’m not running on minimal sleep and can actually focus!

After borrowing a few diapers from a friend, I decided to purchase some cloth diapers and just go for it. I don’t have enough to use them all the time yet, but I’m slowly acquiring a good stash. I’m not the greatest at math but I’ve crunched a few numbers and wanted to share them with you. Keep in mind these are all averages and sometimes I averaged up (like on the # of diapers we use a day, to account for the unexpected poopy blow out and those sorts of fun adventures…)

Our little guy currently uses between 7 and 9 diapers a day(ish). We have been using Pampers and have been paying around 0.26 per diaper. I’m now using an average of 2-3 disposable diapers a day, one of which is for night time, until I have enough cloth diapers. I have bought 7 cloth diapers and along with accessories have spent about $110 so far. (including free & clear detergent, diaper liners, and diaper wipes spray.) I’m going to guess and say that I plan on spending about $300 on all things diaper related, once I get a few more diapers, a wet bag, and a few other misc. items that I don’t necessarily need but would be nice to have.

Ok, now back to me not being great at math… Here goes, if we were spending ~0.26 per diaper (which comes out to $2.34/day at 9 diapers/day). – in a year we’d spend almost $900.00 (and closer to $1300.00 in 1.5 yrs!) not to mention all the garbage we’ll be making with all those disposables. So, by spending an initial $300(ish) on cloth diapers, we’ll save around $900. I don’t know about you but not spending $900 on diapers sounds pretty fabulous to me! =)

Cloth diapering really hasn’t been that hard, and considering I’ve only been doing it a few weeks I think that says something. (Meaning even a person with no experience can do it!) If you’re interested in cloth diapering, I say just try it. There are tons of great resources online with people who are more than happy to answer questions. In my experience so far, I’ve found that people who cloth diaper love to share information and help others who are interested in cloth diapering. Once you try it, you’ll see just how easy (and fun) it is and you’ll be buying all sorts of adorable patterns and super soft diapers before you know it!

~The Penny Wise Chick is a military wife, and stay at home mom to an adorable 9 month old son. She enjoys blogging at The Penny Wise Chick, cooking, reading and spending time with her family.

2 comments:

Do not know if you are planning on having more than one child but you can reuse your cloth diapers and your savings goes up. Also if you use cloth wipes there is more money you saved. I love knowing I am saving money and helping the environment with a little extra work!!

I didn't start using CDs until about 1 month or so and then used them until 3 months. When I went back to work I quit because life was just too hectic. Since my daughter was 6 months and I started staying we now cloth diaper almost all the time, except for her night time diaper. She is in that for 10 hours plus and I am kind of scared to try a CD for that amount of time.